The
story began in 1897, when a horned lizard, the animal's proper
designation, was placed in the cornerstone of the county's third
courthouse. When that edifice was demolished in February 1928 to make
way for the current Art Deco model, the cornerstone was opened.

According to published accounts, a crowd of three thousand showed up to
see the opening of the old building's time capsule. Much to everyone's
surprise, when the marble box was opened the interred lizard was still
alive ? 31 years later.

Despite skeptics who questioned how the critter could have survived, the
lizard was dubbed Old Rip (after Rip Van Winkle) and became an instant
celebrity. Town folks took him on a tour of the nation that included a
stop in Washington D.C. to meet President Calvin Coolidge.

The
travel and excitement must have been too much for Old Rip, because on
January 19, 1929 he went to the pesticide-free land in the sky. The
autopsy showed that he had fluid in his tiny lungs and pneumonia was
list as the official cause of death. He was subsequently embalmed and
placed in a red velvet-lined box in the courthouse lobby for all to see.

One would think that the Texas legend would have ended there, but the
story keeps going. In 1962, according to Wesley Treat's
Texas Twisted, gubernatorial candidate John Connally couldn't
pass up a photo opportunity with Eastland's most famous resident. When
Connally held up the mummified relic by its hind leg, the limb broke
off, to the chagrin of county officials and the amusement of the press.

Eleven
years later, Old Rip was in the headlines again. This time he had been "toad-napped"
from his exalted perch in the courthouse. The anonymous kidnapper wrote
a letter claiming to have been part of the conspiracy to hoax the
nation. The letter demanded his co-conspirators confess and a small
ransom be paid. When neither seemed forthcoming, the velvet box
containing the lizard was left at the county fairgrounds. Now there is
controversy whether or not the item in the box today is really Old Rip
or an imposter. The frog rests in peace in a glass display case at the
Eastland County Courthouse.

One final note on the incredible journey of the horned lizard from
Eastland County. In 1955, cartoonist Chuck Jones and writer Michael
Maltese, inspired by the legend of Old Rip, created "One Froggy
Evening." The classic cartoon tells the story of a frog who is freed
from a cornerstone and sings ragtime jazz when no one is watching. That
creation morphed into Michigan J. Frog, the official mascot of the Warner Brothers
Television Network.

* Old Rip images courtesy ofTexas Twisted. Copyright 2001 Wesley Treat.* Gerald E. McLeod is an Austin-based writer and a contributor to the
Austin Chronicle and Texas Highways. McLeod?s Day Trips: Vol. 2, a book
of Day Trips 101-200, is available for $8.95, plus $3.05 for shipping,
handling and tax. Mail to: Day Trips, Box 33284, South Austin, TX 78704.